


Adrenaline

by Merkwerkee



Series: Being Bruno Hamilton [13]
Category: Masters of the Metaverse
Genre: Whumptober 2019, an unwelcome adrenaline rush, during his time in the Vietnam War, or something like it anyway, tw panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22855243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merkwerkee/pseuds/Merkwerkee
Summary: The problem with pattern-matching in brains is that on occasion you get a false positive
Series: Being Bruno Hamilton [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1643020





	Adrenaline

Bruno stuck out like a sore thumb.

It was hard to blend in when you were a foot taller and broader than everyone around you, but today Bruno wasn’t even trying. He simply waded through the sea of bobbing heads around him, his destination clear. He had a two-day pass, and some of the men from his old unit - before Jaxun had him earmarked for special assignments - had invited him to a particular bar they gave glowing praise. Bruno wasn’t, as a general rule, one to get drunk - excepting extenuating circumstances - but these were good guys and he wanted to see how they were doing.

And so he walked down a perfectly normal street in friendly territory - for a given value of friendly, anyway; he garnered a lot of suspicious looks as he walked. He ignored them, even with the way they sent uneasy prickles down his spine. He wasn’t in enemy territory, no-one was going to start shooting at him in the middle of the street. It was going to be a nice, easy night catching up with buddies over a few beers and pouring the sloppiest guys into a cab was the only challenge for this evening.

If Bruno told himself that enough times, he would _make_ it so.

A snatch of Vietnamese drifted to him, and Bruno spun with his heart in his mouth. A few people near shied away at the sudden movement, but no threats manifested themselves. And yet Bruno couldn’t get his heart to slow from the rapid tattoo it was beating against his ribs; that had sounded familiar, almost, in a way that made his gut swoop and teeth clench. It wasn’t logical, and Bruno breathed deeply in through his nose and out through clenched teeth. This was ridiculous, what the hell-

A car backfired.

Bruno _twitched_.

He turned, and headed back the way he came. He was too close to something he didn’t like - he’d almost drawn a gun, back there, among all those innocent civilians. Instincts that had saved his life on more than one occasion now had him sweating like a sinner in church while heart did a tango. Every noise was magnified, every breath a pant, and what he thought was a gentle brush past a man wearing a conservative blue suit nearly sent the fellow toppling to the ground. Bruno’s pace increased; he was just short of jogging, strides eating up the ground, as he headed back to the base.

He’d work out this adrenaline rush on the range and hang out some other time. Bruno _refused_ to be a danger to himself and others; he’d get his head on straight, then he’d go out on the town.

Sometime.


End file.
